Various systems, e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,013, are described in the prior art for rapidly filling small containers, e.g., one, three, or five pound, with discrete items, e.g., beans, nuts, hard candy, fruit items, etc. Such systems typically include a feeder subsystem that sequentially feeds the items to at least one weighing container. A controller monitors the weight of the items accumulated in the weighing container(s) and then causes a desired batch to be discharged therefrom. Such systems can use various procedures, e.g., “linear weigh” or “combination weigh”, to discharge the desired batch. It is typical for the feeder subsystem, e.g., a conveyor belt or vibratory feeder, to release the items so they drop by gravity into the weighing container. The drop can cause bruising of fragile items such as strawberries, cherries, etc.